A day in the life of... Prakash Baishya

Being born blind was no barrier to this pre-primary teacher achieving his ambition of a career in education, but it took a long time to overcome systemic prejudices
22nd December 2017, 12:00am

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A day in the life of... Prakash Baishya

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I work as a teacher at Jorhat Blind Institute in Assam, India. Writing this down makes me proud, but also reminds me of how much of a struggle it was for me to become a teacher in the first place.

The Jorhat Blind Institute is a government-run school under the Directorate of Social Welfare. There are 51 students in the school and I teach four classes between grade 1 and grade 4. Being blind myself, I act as a role model for the kids and motivate them to study hard, as I’m living proof that you don’t have to be able to see in order to be successful and have a job.

I was born blind. Although I got a lot of attention and support from my family, others in society doubted my abilities because I can’t see. Those preconceptions only egged me on to prove people wrong and I studied hard to get my qualifications.

But despite passing all my exams, I found I couldn’t get a job anywhere. It was really frustrating that after overcoming so many barriers to receive my education, I still couldn’t get a job. In theory, there are excellent legal regulations for protection and promotion of people with disabilities in India. However, owing to the lack of knowledge in how to implement these, the reality can be quite different.

Despite being on the list of teachers for the Assam government’s special teacher-recruitment drive for persons with physical impairment, I was not given an appointment. The drive was launched to fill vacancies for more than 600 much-needed posts. However, the negative mindset of people towards disability prevented me from being selected.

Eight frustrating years

In total, it took eight frustrating years, during which time I was represented by a local organisation supported by the global disability NGO Light for the World. Eventually, I qualified in the recruitment drive and was finally given a posting by Assam’s social welfare department in the Jorhat Blind Institute.

I’m happy that I got the chance to teach visually impaired children because I feel it is hugely important for every child, including children with disabilities, to receive a quality education.

From Monday to Saturday, my typical day starts at about 5.30am, when I enjoy my morning tea and help my wife and mother with some chores around the house.

I don’t have to leave home until about 9.30am because the school day starts at 10am and the school is only a five-minute walk from my house. I teach Assamese language and mathematics to pre-primary students, as well as Braille reading and writing. When I see the kids thriving in school and learning that being visually impaired doesn’t mean that they can’t do something that their seeing peers can, I remember why I wanted to become a teacher in the first place.

At 1.50pm, I head home and enjoy time with my family or prepare any work that needs to be done for the next day.

India has quite a robust education framework and a lot has been achieved in the past few decades with universalisation of elementary education and the Right to Education Act being passed in 2009. However, with the challenges of child labour, lack of trained manpower, poverty and marginalised groups of children, the country still has a lot of work to do to ensure that no child is left behind.


Prakash Baishya is teacher at Jorhat Blind Institution in Assam, India

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